What do I need to Understand versus What do I want to Understand

One of the most time consuming tasks is learning how to do something new.

Thus it is important we prioritise our learning at all times in order to maximise our use of available time.

What do need to understand to complete our tasks?  These must be identified and acted on. 

What do we want to understand? These must be acted on, but deferred, until we have acted on what we need to understand and are able to do that efficiently.

The Value of Doing Things Properly the First Time Round - And Documenting Confusions

It is very tempting to take shortcuts in tasks which allow you to reach your result faster, or if not faster, then perhaps with considerably less effort!

This is particularly true in tasks that require learning.

The problem with sacrificing effort is that the same task may come up later again and again. At each point in time, considerable effort must be made to reach the minimum level of understanding to complete the task.  In many cases, the task may recur in slightly altered form in future (for example, if a legislation comes up, or a particular government policy changes).

Another approach is to do the task properly "first time round". Understanding clearly what the task is about, documenting any confusions (and grouping them into "confusions that must be resolved to resolve the task" and "open questions for future thought"will help to prioritise your attention) as well as references relevant to the task (collated for easy access) will be extremely useful not only to complete the task of time but also in reinforcing your understanding which will help resolve future similar assignments.

Be confident in questioning the things you don't understand. Document your confusions. Then resolve them and document the resolution. This way you will gain a confident understanding for completing your tasks.